Potty Training Advice - Chicago,IL

HI K.
This is a VERY common problem with kids.After being a nanny i reccommend using a star chart.Give him a star for each poo he does on the toilet and as he does so many reward with a special treat(trip out somewhere)
also take him with you as you go tothe toilet and talk him through what you are doing.Show him you are ok.
Also give foods/drinks to help produce poos so he cant hold them in a easily.
you must stop using the diaper as you are just creating more of a problem for hm.
loads of praise/excitement with the chart should do it
good luck!!

Does your son like stickers or an achievement poster? Where if he likes sponge bob, you can get sponge bob stickers and then when he goes you can put a sticker on the chart. the goal is to fill the calendar or the charts up. That might motivate him. There are also kits you can get at the store w/ toy story stickers and books. have you tried those?

First, he is NORMAL! My girlfriend's son did the exact same thing. They asked him what he wanted as an incentive (candy, toy, etc.) and he wanted a big boy bike, so when he started going poo on the toilet they gave him a bike. My son had a similar issue, but candy worked for him. But I should have bought a jar of sour worms and put it on the toilet and when it ran out, the incentive was over. But instead I had to stop the candy cold turkey after a month or so. Also, ask your pediatrician.

Try a different kind of potty, maybe he is afraid of it or maybe it does really hurt him- not nice and soft like a diaper for sure. Make his favourite stuff toys use it, make it into a game otherwise it may become more of a power struggle.

I found that the thing that worked best with my daughter was to take the pressure away. I tried potty training three or four times, and it wasn't until she was completely ready and I took all the pressure off that I had any success at all. I also used prizes to encourage her. That's great that he's been trained for peeing for so long! WOW! I think if I were in your shoes I might try saying something to him like, "I understand it can be scary to try something new like going poo poo on the potty. You can use your diaper if that makes you feel better. I doesn't hurt me or Daddy to go poo poo on the potty. When you're ready, you can try it, too." Unless you've already tried that tactic. The other thing that worked really well for us was incentives. I gave her prizes for going on the potty. We're talking really small pieces of toys (like one pair of shoes from a Polly Pocket set). So maybe you could add something like, "And I'll be so proud of you when you go poo poo. We can even go to the toy store and pick out a poo poo prize!" I know that it's so much easier to give advice than to live the life! It sounds like you're doing a great job. I'm sure it will come to him. Don't worry!

Let him see you when you are pooping so he can see that it will not hurt. Then begin a reward system to congratulate his efforts (my daughter's was a jellybean per attempt). When she got hip to jumping on and right off the potty for a treat, I incorporated reading a story to establish the amount of time that she had to try. That is when it happened. The first time I read to her, she relaxed and things happened naturally. Good luck!

> I did the reward system, which sounds like bribery, but it works. I would my daughter a special
sticker when she went poo poo in the potty. Maybe he could have a special treat or get to do a
special thing..or take a special trip to Toys R Us because he was a "Big Boy." A good book to read is
"potty training in a day." That helped me.

Good Luck! They get it eventually. It is always on their terms, and their timing. Be patient. It will
happen.

I know several people who had this problem with their child, although most were girls. My sister finally solved it after her daughter turned 4. She still gave her daughter a diaper, but had her sit on the toilet and poop while wearing it. (She was not negative about the diaper at all during this time, just decided it needed to be changed before kindergarten.) She sat in the bathroom with her daughter while she did it, then put the poop in the toilet, flushed, etc. Eventually, she had her daughter remove the diaper, and do it. She also had a reward system going. Her daughter picked out a doll she really wanted, and earned if she went potty every day for a week. Then she chose another toy for doing it for a month. This combo really seemed to work for them, and I believe they are currently diaper-free.

Hi K.,
I have the opposite problem with my son. He goes poo-poo in the toilet but not pee-pee. He's been poopee trained since he was two. Apparently, he doesn't like poopee on his butt but he doesn't mind a wet diapee.
Anyway here's my advice: If you don't have one already, get a soft toilet seat or soft potty. We have a soft spongebob one from babies r us and my son is very comfortable sitting on this while he looks at his picture books. Also you need a stool that he can rest his feet on. Most men like to take a "luxury poo-poo" like this. I hope this helps and good luck.

Also if you have advice for me, on how to get my son to go pee-pee in the toilet, I'd appreciate it. He's the same age as your son.

Diana

My advice is to not push him. Let him have the diaper, and when he is ready he will go on the toilet. Potty training is a sensitive issue on many different levels, you want to let them have the control over this issue. One of my daughter's teachers once told me that is the equivalent of letting go of a piece of yourself for a child. So, it's not a big deal, and I gaurantee he won't be doing it for much longer.

Good Luck
B.

Hi K.,

I don't have any real advice, but I did want to tell you that my daughter was the same way. She had to figure out how to poop sitting down on the potty. Until she did she would ask for a pull. Also, she went through some constipation issues, because she said it hurt too. I give her one juice box a day(usually apple) to keep her regular, that way it didn't hurt. She eventually figured it out and went. Once she did it once, and we praised her up and down, she was able to continue to go on the potty and hasn't asked for a pull up since. Iam not sure if there is a way to teach them, but we talked a lot about being a big girl, and how they go in the potty.

Good luck!

J.

K., I know it may be hard, but when you are home and he has to poop put the potty out and re-assure him that you are sure that it won't hurt and that if he has to go poop that he has to go on the potty,,,,and there will be no more diapers. It is going to be hard but once he does it he will be pround of himself. you could also put the potty infront of the TV when he has to go and if he relaxes and watches his show it might "slide" out. Let me know if anything works. C.

Something with regard to 'poo poo' must have scared him? Have you tried 'toilet targets'? They are usually used for 'pee pee' but it might work? Make a game out of it. You CAN'T give into the diaper thing much longer for the sanity of everyone involved. Just a guess. Trust me, we've all been there. You'll figure it out.

Hi. A friend of mine has a similar problem, but her son is almost 5. I know that they first tried stool softeners. (I would ask your ped first) She recently took him to a specialist (just yesterday actually) so there are doctors that do specialize in this area. If you would like the name of the specialist she went to email me at ____@____.com this helps...